The Silver Anklet

by Mahtab Narsimhan

  It was like she’d been struck by lightning. Kali and a voice she knew … a voice she’d heard before. One she’d been expecting, but hoped never to hear again in her lifetime.

  Kali stepped out from behind a tree, her face tinted by a red glow. She carried something very carefully, but it was hard to make out what exactly it was.

  The chill trickled down to her toes, reached her numb fingers, and climbed all the way to her scalp. Kali placed the mysterious item on the ground and stepped back. Tara finally got a good look. It was an urn and she knew where she had seen it before. She screamed silently, her body thrumming with the urge to flee, to run far, far away. Kali grinned at her and it was like old times. Something really bad was about to happen.

  Tara forced herself to stand still. She opened her mouth. No words came out of her parched throat. She swallowed, tried again.

  “Zarku?”

  “Ahhh, she remembers,” said Zarku. “Bring her to me, Kali. I want her to take a good look at what she’s done.”

  Kali moved toward Tara and she involuntarily stepped back. Kali’s hand shot out, imprisoned Tara’s wrist in a tight grip and jerked her toward the urn. A smell of burned flesh hung in the air. Tara gagged.

  “You’re alive,” said Tara. Her heart fluttered in her chest. “How is that possible?”

  “Barely, thanks to you and your interfering grandfather.” The red glow dimmed and brightened as Zarku spoke. Tara had a sudden urge to kick the urn high into the air, see it fall and smash to smithereens. But the thought of that evil presence floating in the air around her, having to inhale him, made her shudder. The urge passed.

  “What do you want,” said Tara.

  “Revenge,” said Zarku.

  Tara’s insides quivered. “Never!” she said. “As soon as I get Prabala, we’ll finish you for good this time. You’ll never ever come back to trouble us again.”

  The urn rocked back and forth with Zarku’s maniacal laughter. Tara clapped her hands over her ears.

  “You don’t scare me,” she said. “You’re nothing but a pile of ashes with a voice. And I don’t think this buffalo will be able to keep up with me if I decide to run.”

  Kali sucked in her breath audibly, but said nothing.

  “Oh, I won’t try and stop you, Tara,” said Zarku.

  “You’re free to go. Know that if and when you come back with that fool of a healer, there won’t be anyone left to rescue. I will kill them all.”

  Her stomach twisted painfully. He was as mad and bloodthirsty as ever.

  “You’ve already killed an innocent child,” yelled Tara. “And now you’re going to kill more? Why? What harm have they done to you?”

  “All in good time, Tara,” said Zarku. “If I tell you everything now, I’ll ruin the surprise I have for you. It’s such a nice one.”

  Tara knew she’d hate it. “Where is Suraj?” she asked.

  “Come with me and I’ll show you.”

  “Do I have a choice?” said Tara.

  “Oh, you always have a choice,” said Zarku. “The question is will you be able to bear the consequences of the choice you make?”

  Tara stared at him. What did he mean by that?

  Why was he talking in riddles? Should she call his bluff and run? Tara glanced at Kali who glared back at her malevolently. The darkness looked so much more desirable right now; she’d gladly face that than Zarku. Tara stood still, thoughts blowing in her head like leaves in a storm, first one way then the other.

  “Just so you know,” said Zarku. “I hate waiting. It makes me cranky.”

  Tara closed her eyes, stilled the storm raging inside of her and made her decision.

  “I’ll go with you,” said Tara staring straight at the urn. “But you have to promise me that the children will be unharmed. Even my friends. Promise me now!”

  Zarku cackled and Kali joined in. “This girl thinks she can make me promise things,” said Zarku. “Ahhh, Tara, you are so brave and so stupid. I’m really going to miss you.”

  Another painful jolt. Black spots danced before her eyes. She refused to let herself think about what he meant by that. Not now. Right now she had to focus on rescuing her brother and her friends.

  Kali scooped up the urn gingerly and started back toward the temple. Tara followed, dreading the look on everyone’s face when they saw her.

  The moment Tara stepped out of the forest, Ananth’s face tightened. Kabir looked accusingly at her, Raani looked relieved, and Vayu refused to meet her eye. They had all suffered; teeth marks and rivulets of dried blood adorned their arms and legs.

  Kali shoved her toward the others and disappeared into the temple with the urn. The hyenas, snapping at her ankles, herded her toward her friends.

  “I told you to run,” said Ananth. His expression was livid. “You never listen to anyone, do you?”

  “I tried,” said Tara. “But I had to come back.”

  “Why? Because you couldn’t outrun that buffalo?” said Kabir. “You were our only hope, Tara. And now you’ve let us all down.”

  “I’ll explain later,” said Tara as soon as she saw Kali return with a lantern.

  “Where are the children?” asked Tara. “I want to see them. He promised.”

  Kali’s laughter echoed around them and a bird from a nearby tree flew up in alarm. “I don’t remember any such promise,” she said. “But maybe if you were to ask me politely ...”

  “Who is he?” asked Ananth, looking from Kali to Tara. “What is she talking about?”

  Tara ignored him. “Please can I see Suraj and Sadia?” she repeated.

  “No,” said Kali. “Maybe tomorrow. I’m tired and I need to sleep. Thanks to you lot, tonight is completely ruined. Now follow me.”

  Tara wanted to lash out at that swaying backside in front of her. She remembered the time when Suraj had placed a lizard on Kali’s back and made her dance in the middle of the road. They had laughed till their sides ached, but right now the thought of it made her want to cry.

  The hyenas hustled them along, growling at their heels. It was a bit cooler in the temple and the chance to get out of the heat and the mosquitoes was a huge relief.

  Kali led the way deeper into the abandoned temple, expertly navigating sharp turns through a labyrinth of damp corridors. Her lantern illuminated the ivy and creepers climbing the walls in lush abandon. Slimy green sections of moss-covered stone slid past, and the air had a closed, musty smell.

  “Pay attention,” whispered Ananth.

  He and Kabir looked around, trying to memorize the route. Vayu looked straight ahead and Raani could not take her eyes off the floor that had many a slippery patch and was littered with debris from the forest.

  Kali stopped in front of a set of heavy wooden doors that gaped open. “Get inside,” she said. “Hurry! I don’t have all night.”

  They filed into the room silently. It was like walking into a deep, dark cave that had no end. What if something horrible awaited them? But there was nothing there and Tara breathed a sigh of relief.

  Kali followed them inside. The insipid light of the lantern revealed an empty room with drifts of dead leaves in the corners. A rotting smell lingered in the room as if something had died in here recently. Thick creepers climbed the walls toward the ceiling, covering every inch of surface. Other than that the room was completely bare.

  “I’ll be back in the morning,” said Kali. “Do make yourselves comfortable.”

  “Can’t you let us see the children just once?” said Kabir. “Have you no pity at all?”

  “No,” said Kali. “Anything else?”

  “You’re not human,” said Tara. “Don’t forget, we’ve looked after Layla like she was our sister. Thank God she didn’t have you around or she’d have been just as bad.”

  Kali smiled. “If you only knew what Layla is capable of. She’s my daughter and always will be. I’m proud of her!”

  “What do you mean by that?” said Tara. Her nerves tingled and a thought nagg
ed at her. “Layla was following your orders when she lured Suraj and Rohan toward the hyenas, right?”

  “Right,” said Kali. “My daughter follows instructions very well.”

  “But how did you manage to get the message to her? Did you come to Morni …?” Tara was burning with curiousity. How had Kali managed to slip unseen past all the villagers?

  “Never mind,” said Kali. She had been watching Tara closely, her smile broader. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. You were always such a smart girl.”

  Tara looked at Kali in disgust. Layla was turning out to be a replica of her mother and if they were somehow still in touch, who knew what they’d be capable of. She cursed herself silently. If only she had trusted her instincts, none of this would have happened. She had always known Layla was bad; that they should have turned her out of the village with Kali. When she got back home, it was the first thing she would take care of.

  “I’d rather the hyenas finished you off right now,” said Kali. “Save us all a lot of trouble. But what can I say? I’m just following orders.” She yawned in their faces and walked out, taking the lantern with her. As the doors closed, the last thing they saw was her pale face with its cruel smile.

  Raani immediately rounded on Vayu as soon as the doors banged shut.

  “Vayu, you fool!” she said. “If it hadn’t been for you, we would have rescued Suraj and Sadia and would have been on our way home by now. You’ve ruined it for all of us! God knows why any one would name you after the wind … you should have been named after something big and dumb!”

  “I thought you said you knew this part of the forest well,” said Kabir. “And a plant scared you?”

  Ananth maintained a disapproving silence as he prowled around the room, examining it.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Vayu, softly. “With all that talk about Zarku returning, I was a little … um … spooked. I’m really sorry.” His shoulders slumped. Tara’s heart went out to him.

  “That’s enough,” said Tara. “Vayu did not give us away deliberately. I think we should all just let it go.

  There’s nothing wrong with being a little scared.”

  “You should know,” said Kabir, his voice like a whiplash. “You couldn’t outrun a middle-aged woman and were too scared to brave the dark and go back to Morni for help. You both make a great pair.”

  Tara wanted to retort with something equally hurtful, but held her tongue. They hadn’t a clue about how much trouble they were in. Till she explained it to them, they would continue to believe that she was a coward. And she wasn’t. She wasn’t!

  “I came back for all of you,” said Tara quietly. “If I hadn’t, he would have killed you all.”

  “Who?” asked Ananth. “Don’t tell me you’re still clinging on to that silly idea —”

  “Zarku,” Tara cut in. “I saw him and spoke to him.”

  Raani clasped her hands. Kabir and Vayu exchanged glances.

  “You’re lying,” said Ananth.

  “Have I ever lied to you?” said Tara.

  “What did he look like?” asked Ananth. “Does he still have that … third eye?”

  “He’s in the urn. The one Lord Yama sealed his ashes in,” said Tara. “Somehow Kali got her hands on it. That was what she was carrying when we came back from the forest.”

  “He can’t do much from an urn,” said Kabir. “We can still escape and run.”

  “Have you forgotten the children?” asked Tara. “He probably captured them to get us here, especially me!”

  “So what’s he going to do?”asked Kabir. “Did he tell you?”

  “Only that he wants revenge and it involves me,” said Tara. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “If I ran away, he said he’d finish off the lot of you before I came back with help. You see, I really had no choice. I had to come back.”

  All of sudden Tara was so tired she could barely stand. She stumbled away and slumped down in a corner. He was back and he had a surprise for her. In a few hours she would know exactly what it was. For now she just wanted to stop thinking about it or her head would explode.

  Ananth knelt beside her. “I’m so sorry, Tara. I didn’t know. I … er … we … assumed that you were too scared —”

  “Of late you’ve been assuming a lot, Ananth,” said Tara. “You don’t think!”

  He exhaled noisily and she didn’t need to see his face to know that he was angry and probably a bit ashamed, too.

  “I can’t wait,” said Kabir. “I have to see my sister!” He pounded on the door.

  “Stop it!” said Ananth. “Have you gone mad, Kabir?

  Do you think banging on the door is going to get us out of here?”

  Kabir stopped. His heavy breathing was the only sound in the room. Beyond the heavy doors, the pounding echoed through the temple and faded away into silence. No one came.

  “We need to plan the next move,” said Vayu.

  “Surprises don’t work out too well.”

  “Just like yours,” said Raani. “We would never have been caught if it hadn’t been for you, you fat lump!”

  “Stop!” hissed Tara. She stared at the whites of four pairs of eyes that stared back at her. “When will you get it into your heads that this was carefully planned by Zarku to lure me here using my brother? Layla and Kali both helped. One child is already dead! Sadia or Suraj could be next.”

  When no one replied, she continued, “And get one thing straight, one way or the other, he would have caught us. So stop blaming Vayu. We’ll just have to wait till tomorrow.”

  “Not me,” said Kabir, pacing the floor. “I’m going for help. I can’t sit around and wait for this maniac in powder form to do what he likes.”

  “Calm down,” said Ananth. “Let’s wait and see what Zarku has in mind and then plan our next move. I don’t want to do anything without seeing Suraj and Sadia first.”

  “What if killing all of us is what he has in mind?” said Kabir. “You want to wait around for that?”

  There was a deep silence. Tara had to admit there was some truth in it. She was the one he really wanted but he hadn’t specified — alive or dead. And the others? Would he let them go or kill them for the fun of it? She desperately wanted to know and yet thinking about it made her sick.

  “This door looks too solid to break through,” said Raani. “I see no other way.”

  Kabir looked at the lighter patch high up on the wall. “Help me, Vayu,” he said. “I bet there’s a window up there. That’s why this room isn’t completely dark.”

  Vayu intertwined his fingers and braced himself against the wall. Kabir stepped on Vayu’s hands and pulled himself up. He plunged his hand into the foliage covering the wall and tore away a handful of vines. Silvery light poured into the room through a small barred window.

  “Just as I thought,” said Kabir. “Here is our escape route.”

  “Really?” said Ananth. The sneer in his voice was unmistakeable. “Get down and we’ll make a proper plan.”

  “I can get through this easy,” said Kabir. He rattled the bars and measured the gap between them with outstretched fingers.

  “Can you really fit through those bars?” asked Tara. “They look too narrow even for someone as small as Suraj.” Pain flared in her chest at the thought of her brother. He must be somewhere close by. Scared and lonely. If only she could have seen him once, she could have spared him one more night of anguish. I hope you burn in hell, Kali. I hope you die a horrible and painful death.

  “My body will be no problem,” said Kabir. “Getting my head through the bars will be the biggest challenge.

  Let me have a look and see where we are.” He stood on tiptoes on Vayu’s palms, swaying slightly. He craned his neck. “Can only see treetops. Need to get higher.”

  Vayu held him steady without as much as a groan.

  Kabir pulled himself up on the small ledge in front of the window. “Much better!”

  “What do you see?” asked Ananth. “Which di
rection are we facing?”

  “We’re at the back of the temple. There’s a small courtyard and then the forest starts. The ground doesn’t look too far off, either. I should be able to jump down easily. But once I’m out, then what?”

  “Go south and head for the river,” said Ananth.

  “You can’t miss it if you keep the North Star behind you at all times. Boats are always tethered at regular intervals along the banks. If you can get there, you should be able to row to the nearest village — Ambala — I think. It’s downstream so it will be much faster, you’ll be going with the current. They can send word to Morni and Ramgarh for help.”

  Tara listened to the plans with growing dread. Were they doing the right thing? What if Kabir was caught?

  Zarku hated to look a fool. Lord Ganesh, please help me, she prayed. I don’t have a suitable offering right now, but I’ll donate a kilo of sugar if you help us escape. At that precise moment, something ran over her leg and she jumped. She looked down into bright-red eyes. A rat! It stood up on its hind legs, sniffing the air.

  “Mushika?” Tara breathed. “You’ve come back!”

  The moment she spoke the rat fled. She glanced up feeling foolish. No one seemed to have noticed. They were all intent on Kabir and his efforts to escape.

  “Do you really think you’ll get through?”asked Raani. She watched him, her arms folded across her chest. “This isn’t as easy as getting into a basket, you know. You’ll have to rearrange your bones in an entirely different way. And if your head gets stuck, none of us will be able to …”

  “You’re a right ray of sunshine, Raani,” said Tara, “What would we do without you? Kabir said he can do this and he will.”

  “How dare —” Raani started to say.

  “I know, Raani, I know,” said Kabir. “Don’t remind me of how bad this could get. Please?”

  Raani walked away to a corner of the room and sat down in a huff.

  Kabir leaped down from the window. “I better leave right away. No point in waiting around.”

  “Be careful,” said Ananth. “Don’t take any chances. Good luck.”